09:00 – Talk given
at Church today. Assigned topic: “Come
and See,” by Elder David A. Bednar, October 2014 General Conference
Note: Because I had received several requests for a copy of my talk, and received one request to share it over the web, I will go ahead and post it at this time. --SJR
The
scriptures speak of at least three events, and these are representative of many
others. The first event I speak of comes
to us from the book of John. There, the
Savior reaches a man by the name of Philip.
Now it came to pass that he received his own knowledge regarding the
Savior’s divine role, for he finds Nathaniel and exclaims, “We have found him,
of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the
son of Joseph.” Nathaniel, perhaps with
some skepticism, inquires, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip responds, “Come and see.” Whereupon he did, and by the time we approach
the end of the first chapter, Nathaniel himself exclaimed, “Thou art the son of
God…the King of Israel.”
The
second event comes through the Book of Mormon.
In the book of 1 Nephi, in the 8th chapter, Lehi sees in a vision the
tree of life, which is a representation of “the Love of God,” which is “the
most desirable above all things,” and “most joyous to the soul.” Lehi would go on to say that he was able to
partake of the fruit of that tree, receiving joy in the process. Afterwards, his first priority was to invite
his family to partake of it also. He
didn’t say, “Come and see,” but his words carried essentially the same
meaning.
The
third event comes through the Book of Mormon also. There is the account of a man by the name of
Enos. We know that he struggled mightily
in prayer, for what appears to be many hours, for we read that his soul had
hungered, and that he prayed through the day and into the night. Now Enos had learned for himself the power of
the Atonement, because His sins were forgiven him, and when this happened, he
proceeded to pour out his whole soul for the welfare of his family, friends and
associates. He wanted for others what he
received for himself. In that sense, his
prayers rang with the words “Come and see.”
All
three events have at least three things in common. The first is that the central figure in each
story either acted to invite others, or had prayerfully expressed a desire to
invite others. The second is that each
involved—whether directly or symbolically—a profound change of heart, one that
was not triggered by the persuasion of others, but by a direct act of God
Himself. And a third is that all three
were referenced or outlined in a talk by Elder David A. Bednar in the October
2014 General Conference. And it is this
talk that I will be focusing my attention upon this morning.
Elder
Bednar had directed his remarks to those who are not members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and if there be any here who are in that
category, please know that my words are also one of invitation. Having said that, my assignment is to liken
Elder Bednar’s words to ourselves as members.
The central question to be asked is: What is our role as a disciple of
Jesus Christ? More fundamentally, what
attitude shall we have in our hearts as we carry out His divine
commission?
Elder
Bednar begins by explaining that “Devoted disciples of Jesus Christ have been
and always will be valiant missionaries.”
Who is a valiant missionary?
You’ve heard it a number of different ways, but I will start with my own
words. It’s not just the Elders or
the Sisters who happen to wear the black name tags. Granted, their every waking moment is
oriented towards the Gospel in some way, but shouldn’t that also the case with
us as we endeavor to work at our profession, go to school, maintain the home,
or go on with a multitude of other tasks?
So if it’s not just the Elders or the Sisters, then who is it? The mirror provides a portion of the answer,
but Elder Bednar supplies the rest: “A missionary is a follower of Christ who
testifies of Him as the Redeemer and proclaims the truths of the Gospel.”
Now,
it happens that in my profession, one of my responsibilities is to persuade
others. I take the law, and I take the
facts as I get them, and I have to build arguments that are designed to
persuade somebody to do something that my client wants, whether it’s a jury to
find in her favor, or to get a judge to grant a motion. It’s kinda like selling, isn’t it?
But
does the proclaiming the Gospel work that way?
I submit to you that it does not.
Listen to what Elder Bednar has to say: “When we invite you to attend
church with us or to learn with the full-time missionaries, we are not trying
to sell you a product. As members of the Church, we do not receive prizes or
bonus points in a heavenly contest. We are not seeking simply to increase the
numerical size of the Church. And most importantly, we are not attempting to
coerce you to believe as we do. We are inviting you to hear the restored truths
of the gospel of Jesus Christ so you can study, ponder, pray, and come to know
for yourself if the things we are sharing with you are true.”
There
are two things to consider when we ponder these words. First, our role is to invite. It’s the “come and see” part that God asks of
me, you, and each one of us. Second, if
we’re doing it right, we’re not even the ones that are doing the persuading. For if there is one thing I am able to
testify about--above or beyond anything else--it is that God is able to speak
to us directly, and He is able to do his own work. If there is a conversion, or more precisely,
if there is a lasting change of heart, it’s not because of something we say or
do, it’s because of something God says or does.
The whole point of passages such as Moroni 10:3-5 is to show He is
capable of confirming things directly, and he is capable of answering prayers
directly. He not only does it for people
like Moses, Abraham, Nephi, or Joseph Smith, Jr., but He is capable of doing it
for any one of us, and I testify that he has done it for me personally.
Let
me close by very briefly relating this experience, and in doing so, I hope it
will tie everything together without causing the clock to runneth over. When, over 20 years ago, a certain coworker
felt prompted to have his daughter, then not even seven years of age, give
thanks and pray for a blessing on a meal in my presence, even knowing that I
was not a member of the Church at the time, or even one who treated the
Christian faith very seriously, he was, in his own way leaving an
invitation. When the same coworker felt
prompted to mention a Church activity to his colleagues, he was still
inviting. When, several months later, I
told a general authority who presided at a stake conference, after he had
asked, that my testimony of the Book of Mormon was yet a work in progress, his
response was an invitation to continue studying and praying. (At this point, I departed from my prepared remarks for a brief time in order to say that Elder Perry told me that a
testimony would come to my heart, and that he proceeded to physically point his
finger at my chest, even at my rib cage, as he said those words.) And when I did receive the ultimate answer on
whether the Church is true, it came in a manner entirely consistent with how he
said it would. A few of you were present
at that stake conference, for it was in Franklin in 1992, and you know that the
general authority I speak of was Elder L. Tom Perry. And I recognize that it is a rare experience
to receive a direct apostolic witness.
But at the end of the day, it was God Himself who set into the motion
the path I would willingly follow.
I
testify that the things I have said today are true. That all of us, myself included, have an
increased vision of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and to raise the
voice of invitation to those around us, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus
Christ, Amen.
